My latest numbers for Sonoma County peg our sales at last May's numbers, 395, but with a medium of $405,000, down $120,000 from the year before! Why? That's where the action is--the lower price points driven by the liquidation sale call foreclosures and new home builders. We had almost 200 REO sales in May and 30+ short-sales!! If we didn't have this post foreclosure sales going on we'd have NO market!
I don't know "which part of me" you're referring to but you're probably sitting on it right now!!! I know so many "buyers" who never bought when the market soared in the early 2,000's only to gloat when it turned and who are now thinking this amazing buyer's market is nothing but hype!!
Reminds me of the story of the guy during a flood. His house is surrounded by water and a big truck comes up and the driver says, "Get in I'll take you to safety!". The homeowner replies, "Don't worry, God will take care of me!", the water continues to rise and now it's waist deep and a boat comes up, "Get in I'll take you to safety" says the boatsman, "Nope--My god will save me!", The guy is now on his roof, water up to the eves and a Helicopter comes swooping down, "Get in and I'll take you to safety!" say the pilot. "NOPE! My god will save me!". The guy eventually drowns and ends up in front of God in Heaven and the frist thing he says is, "WHy did you forsake me and allow me to drown!". God looks down and says, "What?!! I sent you a Truck, Boat and Helicopter dummy!!"
And before you reply--Yeah, but look at all those suckers who bought and lost their houses! Yeah, but look at all the smarties who sold at the right time and are now living in homes owned free and clear in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Georgia!!!

Tue Jun 10 2008, 07:58

People are indeed buying in this market. Investors are buying many REO homes. First time buyers are finally able to look at homes that were too high, in years gone by.
It is local though, I am in Los Angeles.

Tue Jun 10 2008, 06:53

where ever you're located - homes that are selling are the ones that are priced correctly. much hasn't changed - and really - overall in the real estate market - or in any business market really - price is the bottom line. any item needs to be priced correctly to sell. how long have you been looking in Sacramento?

Sat May 17 2008, 09:48

Hi I recently bought a nice foreclosure house in the Sacramento area, and I think there are bidding wars when the price is too low(artificially priced). I bought in Feb, and banks were starting to get aggressive with pricing. I did pay less then asking price. There are some good deals out there you just have to make sure you stay on top of the market and one of the first people to see the houses when new properties come on the market.

Sat May 17 2008, 08:45

Nicely said about how assess managers price the homes and how buyers are flocking, especially to those homes that are listed artificially low. I am seeing a lot of those (percentage wise) also in Marin.

Fri May 16 2008, 22:08

If Realtors could "hype" up business you think we'd all love the 30-50% pay-cut we've all taken over the past 3-4 years?!! In the REO market, for my County of Sonoma $200-$500,000, we are getting many multiple offers. It is a SELLER'S market for many an assett manager. We regularly see homes coming on at very low list "hyped" pricing to generate multiple offers. How many? 10-15, one had in excess of 25 offers! Problem is-we have many buyers who qualify at the original "list" price and then are told, after the Realtor/Licensee has extolled what a super "Buyer's" market we have, they now need to overbid for $50,000!! We see these go over list price $100,000 at times. But that' were they SHOULD HAVE BEEN when listed. But the assett managers ain't dummies!! They stall you folks to get your buyers to raise that price. Sound familiar? Sounds like our tactics for our Sellers a few years back. Your highest and best offer please.

Fri May 16 2008, 21:16

Very well priced homes, whether they are REO (Bank Owned) or just regular sellers, even short sales (a bit tougher now, unless it's great, great buy). None-REO sellers are seeing what's happening in the market and the ones that are motivated to sell do price their homes accordingly.

We are seeing mulitple offers for homes that are prices quite low to attract mutiple offers but the winning offers are not necessary much higher (if any) than the asking price. Buyers in this market are willing make offers and buy but at the same time, they are also willing to walk away if they do not get the price they deemed as a good/bargain price.

Sylvia

Fri May 16 2008, 17:30

The fact of the matter it is currently a "buyer's market"....With so many home owner's facing foreclosure & the economy being what it is...There are actually LOTS of homes for sale...therefore, just the opposite, sellers are actually lowering sale prices just to get rid of their home....Many homes have been in the market for months without any "bites".....this stands true for mainly average priced homes...HOWEVER, homes around 200K + do seem to be resulting in bidding wars??? I guess because people looking for homes in this price range NORMALLY have good credit & therefore aren't excluded from financing options.

Fri May 16 2008, 16:41

Yes. Apparently, the homes that are within 3-4 times the median income appear to be selling: $175-250K. We found a home in that range and we went for it. Really happy too :-) Good luck!

Fri May 16 2008, 16:27

I think for bank owned, there are lots of competition. I've two property in escrow right now. One asking price was $241, I paid $252; and the other asking price was $169, I paid $190. They're both as-is sale with a very very minimum contingency. Both were purchased in the month of April 2008. Talking about it now getting me nervous because I'm not sure if I've made a "ball park" buy since there're so many foreclosures out there!

Fri May 16 2008, 16:13

I have been placing offers on REO's in Galt and we are definitely competing. We had one offer we placed for 10k over asking and someone beat us out. There is a heavy demand for these in the 175K-220K price range. We had one home we bid on that received 20 offers.

Tue Apr 1 2008, 17:08

The homes that are selling? Priced below market, better condition rather than fixers. The reason fixers are more of a challenge is when there are items that a buyer cannot generally understand what the cost of the repair would be. But if you just want to know if you have a good value in a home that you are considering, get educated in the market. There are free tools available for you to track the market and get to know what 'value' is- for the type of home, and the area that you're considering. No hype.

Tue Apr 1 2008, 01:50

My listings are selling. They are all well priced. Some have had multiple offers.

Thu Mar 6 2008, 17:34

Yes, people are buying houses. Of course all real estate is local. A $379,900 home in Nutley , NJ this month had multiple offers and our buyer had to go over full price to get the offer accepted.

Thu Mar 6 2008, 12:44

I saw this when we were looking in Vineyard area or churchill downs in south sac/elk grove...As soon as a house would be in a great price range there were bids on it..above the asking price.

Thu Mar 6 2008, 12:21

Every house or condo sells for the right price, so finding the price that is real value will sell a property in any market. Usually, sellers are unwilling to price their properties to attract multiple buyers in this market, but the most sophisticated sellers do.

Thu Mar 6 2008, 09:01

Read the referenced post from Jane Dough, an anonymous Trulia consumer.

The truth is: houses that are priced below market value attract high numbers of buyers and offers. My clients consistently find themselves in a bidding war with 8 to 10 other buyers on houses priced below market value.
It is similar to an auction when the house is priced very low.

When the list price is just "average" - There may be only one or two or no other offers on the house.

All types of homes are selling. Houses that have been list priced in the bottom price per square foot for their zip code and house size are the ones that are "hot"

Thu Mar 6 2008, 08:49

Good morning!
I can't speak for other agents, but 2 times within the last 7 days my clients and I have put in offers to homes and found that there were 3 offers on one occasion and 7 offers on another (this one resulted in the price going $40k over asking price). Both clients have advised me that they will not be in any bidding war so we have moved on in both circumstances.
These homes that are going into bidding wars are usually bank owned homes and/or medium fixers that are in good areas and are priced well below surrounding home values. They need work, but for the buyer that puts the work into them, they will definitely have some equity in the property.

So to address your concern: I am not trying to hype the market up by any means. I am simply telling you about my recent experiences. And I'm sure my clients could share their frustration from you first hand.
My advice to them has been to focus on bank owned homes that have been on the market a while. If they have sat on the market for too long, chances are the bank will be ready to lower there price even further.

If you are wondering, "Is it a good time to buy?"
Well, if you look at mortgage rates over the last 25 years, we are at some of the lowest rates in history. That combined with the huge reduction in home prices makes for a great combination. Personally, I remind my clients that buying a home is a long term investment. Statistically, once a person buys their first home, they will be homeowners for the rest of their lives. That considered, if you are in a financially secure place to buy, then the time is not only right in the market... the time is right for you.

I hope this helped a bit.
Have a good day,
Alex Amaro

Thu Mar 6 2008, 08:46